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Shandaken reviews bids for flood repairs

By Jay Braman Jr.
The Shandaken Town Board received bids Monday on the first anniversary of the massive damage brought on by Tropical Storm Irene on two large stream restoration projects near Phoenicia, with both combined bringing a total of almost $4 million.

Both projects are necessary due to damage that occurred during that storm and its little brother, Lee, which hit only days afterwards.

The projects, said Supervisor Rob Stanley, are stream bank stabilization ones that are critical to the future well being of the town. It is inevitable, Stanley said, that flooding will return, and the damage caused by Irene and Lee have made many acres of streamside land more vulnerable to damage.

One of the biggest problems is that much of the funding was only available for one year after the flooding last August. Like all the small towns around here, there is only so much that could be accomplished by the town’s staff.

“There was no way we could do all of this in one year,” he said. “No way.”

As a result, Shandaken is trying to get time extensions from some funding sources.
Several bids were received and will be reviewed between now and Friday, Aug. 31. At that time a special meeting held at 1 p.m. at town hall to award the winning bids.

The smaller of the two projects is in Chichester. The bidding is as follows: Fastracs, Red Hook, $616,180; Kingston Equip/Baker Bros, West Hurley, $799,500; Hubbell Inc., Margaretville, $840,340.

The larger project is where the Warner Creek runs into the Stony Clove Creek at Silver Hollow, an area plagued by sever flood damage since 1996 when a quarter mile of Silver Hollow Road was destroyed.